Euro shoppers react differently to recession

Europe's leading comparison shopping community, Ciao, has published new insight into the impact of the recession on people across Europe - highlighting key differences in the responses from each country. Across the board people said that they were spending more time researching before making a purchase. In the UK, one in five will no longer make a purchase without extensive online research. In Germany, this figure rises to 27%. In France it is 13%, while in Spain and Italy one in ten people said that their research had increased.

“We conducted our research across Europe to drill down on the different impact the credit crunch is having on different markets,” says Stephan Musikant, General Manager, Ciao Commerce Division at Microsoft. “The results highlighted some surprising differences in local responses. One point, however, is consistent: people still love to shop but they're working harder to get the best from their money”

Most affected overall by the credit crunch are the Brits and the Italians. 82% and 86% respectively said that they felt the economy had affected them personally. The most resilient nation is France, where an impressive 63% said that they had yet to really feel the downturn.

Ciao is a multi-million-strong online community that critically reviews and rates millions of products and services for the benefit of other consumers. Available free of charge to consumers in local-language versions in major western European markets, Ciao combines unbiased consumer reviews and up-to-date price information from hundreds of online merchants to make it the most comprehensive source of shopping intelligence on the web. Testimony to Ciao's success, more than 38 million consumers visit the site every month, making it one of the largest shopping portals in Europe.

Image: Euro flag